TOC: The First Temptation of Z Delgado
by SerenityInTheBlack
Summary: Sky kisses Z on the lips, Z shoots Sky in the face.


Notes: The First Temptation of Z Delgado is the third in a series of small one-shots that deal with various cliché's I've come across in a somewhat different manner than usual. The overall title of the series will be 'That Old Cliché...'

* * *

That Old Cliché...: The First Temptation of Z Delgado

* * *

"Sky?" Z shouted as she scrambled out of the file of boxes she had been flung through. She had been chasing a blue-head along with Sky, but he'd managed to get the drop on them. With Gruum's defeat there hadn't been much left of his troops, but there was enough to keep them busy. Case in point, they had seen the Blue-head while they were on patrol, and had chased him to the warehouse. He'd thrown her off, and then vanished to another room with Sky in hot pursuit.

She heard a crash from the next room, and dashed over there just in time to watch Sky roll to his feet and look about urgently. "Dammit," the Red Ranger swore. "Z, did you see where he went?"

Z shook her head. "Sorry, he got away from me when he threw me through some boxes." She walked over to him as he shook the dust of his coat, an angry and intense look on his face. Sky really didn't like it when perp got away, even less when they were Troobians. There was a constant concern that any remaining Troobian forces might try and free Gruum, so B-squad had standing orders to hunt and destroy any Troobian foot soldiers they came across.

"Al right," he finally said, shaking his head as if he'd taken a blow to it. "Let's go back to SPD headquarters, and see if we can track him from there."

Z nodded, and the two of them walked off. They had just gotten to the outside of the building when Sky seemed to stagger. Z saw and caught him before he could fall, and was a little surprised at how closely he was holding onto her. It wasn't like Sky to let a little thing like getting hit in the head slow him down. It was, she reflected, most likely due to his head being as almost as hard as concrete.

"Thanks," he said, his face close to hers.

"Don't mention it," she responded, staggering slightly herself under his weight.

"I love you Z," he said suddenly, and before she could articulate a response, he reached up an arm to her face, and leaned in, and kissed her.

The reaction was automatic, and ingrained from having spent half a decade living on the streets, where the worst kind of monsters weren't the alien bums. She shoved him away violently, a look of pure fury on her face. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she demanded.

"Z, I didn't mean to surprise you like that," he said as he took a step closer. "I love you."

"Stop saying that." she told him and she folded her arms. "Sky, this is against so many regs."

"Z, I know I should have said something sooner, but I've always loved you, ever since I first saw you," he explained, as he inched closer. "I've just never been able to tell you, and now I just couldn't hold it in."

Z watched him with something very much akin to absolute shock running through her mind. There was no way that Sky Tate, mister rulebook himself had just said that, or done that. It was a violation of half a dozen different regulations, and that wasn't something he would do.

"Please Z," he asked. "Let me prove to you that I'm serious."

"Prove it? What are you talking about?" she asked, but even as she did her mind supplied the likely answer and she shied away from it immediately. She wasn't sure what had gotten into her squad-leader, but there was no chance that she was going to lose her mind like that.

"Let's go back to SPD, let me take you back to your room, and I'll show you how serious I am, and to hell with the regulations," he smiled at her. "You're my one weakness Z Delgado."

As she watched him, disbelief still etched on her face, the word 'weakness' triggered a stray memory from her initial training and briefings, and suddenly she became very still as she realized what had happened to Sky. She swallowed and took a step towards him.

"Sky," she said, looking up at him. "I want you to close your eyes, and take a deep breath, and think about this." She dropped her own hands to her sides. "Think about this, and then, if you still want to go somewhere," she let her sentence trail off in what she hoped was a suggestive tone. She had no idea if she succeeded or not, but Sky did close his eyes, a sappy smile on his face and took a deep breath.

It was all the opening that Z needed to draw her wrist mounted gun, point it straight at Sky's face and pull the trigger.

There was a shower of sparks, as Sky's head exploded, and debris from the destroyed head scattered across the ground as the robotic body fell to the ground. "Damn Troobian infiltration bots," Z muttered under her breath as she turned and ran back into the warehouse to where she'd seen Sky last.

---

"You'll never get away with this!" Sky Tate shouted at the Blue-head who had managed to get the drop on him. He was currently on his knees, hands cuffed behind his back, with the Blue-head pointing its weapon at his head.

"That's where you're wrong Ranger. Right now, one of our infiltration-bots is taking your friend back to the SPD base. Once he gets in there, he'll free Gruum and earth will fall." The Blue-head laughed maniacally. "And Emperor Gruum will reward me for having killed the Red Ranger."

Sky could hear the weapon charging, and redoubled his efforts to break his chains. "Z is going to tear your bot apart. There's no way she'll believe it's me." he stated confidently.

"That's where you're wrong Ranger. Our infiltration bots have been designed to take advantage of humans greatest weakness."

"That's what you think," Z shouted as she came running into the room. "SPD emergency."

Morphing into the Yellow Ranger, she drew her Deltamax blaster, jumped, and shot downwards towards Sky, shattering the cuffs that were holding his wrists. He got to his feet as Z landed infront of the Blue-head and spun her blaster in a vicious arc. "My greatest weakness is a desperate need to kick your ass," she said as her Deltamax blaster smashed him away from her. Before he had a chance to say anything, she took aim and fired of three shots, resulting in the destruction of the Blue-head.

Sky shook his head once and walked over to her as she powered down. "About time you showed up."

"Sorry about the delay Sky," she said with a hint of sarcasm. "I was a little busy with the infiltration bot."

"I knew you wouldn't fall for any bot," he said with a smile as they looked over the remains of the Blue-head.

"No kidding," Z responded. "This one didn't even make the attempt."

"Oh?" Sky asked, now intrigued. "Why, what did he do?"

Z considered that for a second, and then shrugged. "Well, he kissed me, told me he loved me, and wanted to take me back to my room and make love to me," she said matter of factly, then laughed at his expression. It took Sky several seconds to get his face under control as he went from horrified to disbelieving to embarrassed. Z just continued laughing.

"Z," he finally said, trying to muster the remaining shreds of his dignity. "I want you do to promise me something."

"What?" she said, a grin still on her face.

"If I ever act like that, I want you to just take your side-arm, and shoot me in the face."

She gave him another grin as the two of them walked out of the building to go back on patrol "I think I can do that."


End file.
